Matters of the Soul
by Echoing Fantasy
Summary: Soulmate AU. Tsuna's got a name carved on his arm – Renato Sinclair. The name of his supposed soul mate, his other half. The mafia will make it impossible for them to meet, unless... is Renato in the mafia? Reborn and Shamal certainly seem to know... Pre-slash, R27.
1. Chapter 1

_Matters of the Soul_

It's over.

Tsuna sags against the ground, heart pounding in his chest, the world going dizzy as Flame deprivation kicks in. He's poured all he's got into the jars in the center, and hopefully it will be enough to free his tutor and the others. __Hopefully. __They're still waiting to hear back from Kawahira and Talbot, who have taken the jars elsewhere. Bermuda's agreed to look after them, so as long as they jump-started it well enough, everything should be fine.

He wipes his brow with an arm, and like so many times before catches sight of the elegant script on his inner arm near his elbow; a single name forever burned below his skin. The sign of his Other, his second half, his __better side, __soulmate. There are a thousand different words for it, but they all equate to the same. It's someone that makes the world a little less lonely for him, and hopefully he for them as well.

He runs a thumb over the letters, mouthing the name again like he has every since he was ten, when the mark first appeared. __Renato Sinclair - __a foreigner's name, and a __man's __to top it off. At first Tsuna had panicked, believing his mother would hate him for ending up with a man. But instead she'd grabbed and hugged him, squealing with glee. She'd been anxious for the longest time about Tsuna's mark not showing up - especially when she caught wind of the rumors about her son being 'without a soul'. Kids could be cruel when they wanted to be. And Tsuna had already been Dame back then - nobody would argue against the addition of a soulless dame on top of that.

But Tsuna will never get a chance to embrace the person whose name is carved into his skin, because he's in the mafia. The dread, self-loathing and despair fills him up like a balloon. The mafia has already taken so much from him - must it really take away the only person that could make his life brighter as well?

But he knows deep inside he can't risk his other half. If the mafia got ahold of them, there was no telling what would happen. They probably wouldn't even get that far; if Renato was a sensible person, he'd head for the hills as soon as he heard Tsuna was in the mafia, let alone slated to become the next head of Vongola.

"Whatcha looking at, Tenth?"

Tsuna looks up to find Gokudera leaning over him, curious. He's kept the mark hidden so far, never showing it to anyone except his mother. Gokudera doesn't have a name, rather a picture of a bird on his lower thigh. Tsuna has an idea who that bird represents, but won't say anything until Gokudera's ready. After a bit of internal debate, he flips his arm over and raises it so that Gokudera can see better.

"Renato Sinclair?" Gokudera repeats aloud. Neither of them notice the clearing go dead silent until suddenly Reborn is speaking in a terrifying voice.

"What did you just say?"

Both boys jump. Reborn is standing in front of them, looking, for lack of a better word, panicked. His eyes are flickering between them, and he's shifting, his hands flexing. Tsuna feels a chill go down his spine and pulls his arm to his chest, protecting the words. Reborn's eyes snap to him, following the movement. "Tsunayoshi. What did he just say?"

Tsuna shakes his head. He hasn't trusted Reborn with the mark yet, and he really doesn't want to now. Something tells him this is a bad idea. Unfortunately, Reborn is not thrown off by his fear.

"Tell me, Tsuna. What did your Storm just say? He said a name, right? Tell me the name."

Tsuna shakes his head again. The aura around Reborn grows darker. Tsuna quakes, but firmly keeps his mouth shut. Gokudera is looking between the two, unsure which side to take.

But someone else interferes. It's not who Tsuna suspects.

"Now now, Reborn, if the young man doesn't want to tell you the name of his better half, he doesn't have to. That's his right." Shamal steps over, having joined them when Tsuna called for healers. He, along with a team of Sun healers from the Ninth, was on standby. Despite his easy words though, there's something flickering in his eyes that looks a lot like surprise.

"Not when it concerns…" Reborn trails off, and he and Shamal exchange looks. Tsuna can feel his heart pounding, and he doesn't know why, but he suddenly feels like these two might know who the mysterious Renato is.

__What if Renato's in the mafia?__

The idea strikes him suddenly, and he's gaping. What if Reborn and Shamal know Renato? Is that why they want to know the name? To confirm suspicions?

"Um…" His next words die in his throat, but he's caught their attention. Terrified, he presses on. "D-do you know him?"

"Who." Reborn demands. His fists are clenched and his stance is set. He's ready to kill.

Tsuna wets his lips, and for the first time since telling his mother, announces the name to someone other than himself. "Renato Sinclair. D-do you know him?"

Shamal goes white. Reborn freezes. The world seems to have lost its sound. Nobody else seems to have a clue what they're talking about, but they're watching like this is the most interesting thing they've ever seen. Maybe it is. It's not every day you get a reaction like that from asking about your other half.

Very slowly, Reborn relaxes, and Shamal seems to regain his color. They try to act like nothing's wrong, but Tsuna has already seen their reaction. "We used to, back before he died," Shamal says casually, like its the weather he's talking about.

Tsuna flinches. __Dead?__

"He was a coward." Reborn adds, softly. Tsuna feels his heart sink. "He ran away and tried to hide, and he died for it."

Gokudera's fluttering anxiously by his side, but Tsuna feels too numb to care. "Oh." __Dead. My other half. All this time, I was wondering… but he's dead. __His throat closes up, and he brings his knees to his chest almost unconsciously, protecting himself. "Okay."

Shamal is watching him with pain and pity in his gaze. Reborn's walking away. Tsuna really hates him, all of a sudden.

Gokudera's voice breaks through the numbness. "B-but Reborn-san, that can't be right! If Tenth's partner is dead, why hasn't the mark vanished?"

Reborn freezes again, and Shamal fixes a cold gaze on Gokudera. "Mind your own business, brat. This doesn't concern you."

"But it concerns me," Tsuna speaks again, fighting spirit rearing anew. He's ready to take on the world once more. He stands. "Tell me Shamal. Truthfully. What happened to Renato Sinclair?"

"He died."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Then why is my mark still here?" Tsuna jabs a finger at it, impatient, tired, and suddenly __angry __at these people for lying to him. "If he's dead, my mark would be gone. But its not, which means he's not dead. Did he… I don't know, change his name or something?"

He knows he's hit the nail on the head when Shamal flinches back, and Reborn whirls around, killing aura surrounding him. "Stop it, Tsunayoshi. Let it go."

And Tsuna does something he'd never thought he'd do. He defies Reborn. "No."

Shamal sucks in a breath and backs up. Gokudera scuttles out of the way. Now its between Reborn and Tsuna, and Tsuna's not backing down. He expects the beating of his life, but Reborn just watches him. "Why do you want to know about this so badly? Are you that desperate to die?"

Tsuna takes a deep breath and lowers his voice. This is going to be painful. "I spent my early years being told I was soulless, Reborn, because I didn't have a mark until I was __ten. __Most kids are born with them, and those that aren't usually get them a few years down the road, when they're five or six. I want to know who this person is, that kept me from killing myself."

Reborn stares at him, and Tsuna stares back. Shamal is glancing between the two, mentally preparing himself if a fight breaks out. He's not sure who would win - Tsuna's drained on Flames, but his determination is frightening. Reborn is terrifying, but he's never hurt his pupil bad enough to keep him down for long. Maybe if Tsuna were to know the truth, he'd be smart and run the other way.

Or maybe he'd still push forward. The kid was Reborn's level of crazy, by this point.

Reborn speaks. "He changed his name. But you won't find him. He's too clever for the likes of you."

Tsuna smiles. "I'll find him."

"You won't."

"I will. I'll do it with my Dying Will."

Reborn pauses, and then heaves a sigh that sounds tired. "You stupid brat. He's not the type of man that lets people go. You go looking for him, but what happens when you find him? What happens if you don't like what you see? He won't let you just wander back out into your tiny little world and pretend ignorance."

"You mean like you did? You dragged me out of my corner kicking and screaming, and even now you're still doing it. If he's anything like you, I can survive him."

Reborn's look gains an edge. "Can you?"

"I can." Confidence radiates off the words.

There's a pause, and then Reborn chuckles. "You're so stupid, Tsuna. Don't say I didn't warn you, when this comes back around to bite you in the ass."

Tsuna smiles, but its much warmer now. "Aa. I won't. Thank you, Reborn."

Reborn walks away. Only Shamal hears him mutter, "Don't thank me for this, Tsunayoshi."

* * *

><p><span>Author's Notes<span>

This is a cross-posting from my tumblr – originally the prompt was from an anon, but Kyogre mentioned her interest in a KHR Soulmate AU, so I decided to toss her one. She and several others seemed to appreciate and enjoy it, and I'm actually fairly proud of this one, so I'll toss it up here for those of you without a tumblr account to enjoy.

It's intended as a oneshot, so I won't be expanding on it, or doing anything from Reborn's point of view unless it strikes my fancy later on. But given the number of projects I've got on hand right now, its highly unlikely.


	2. Chapter 2

_II: My Heart Is Here (Right Under Yours)_

Reborn likes to consider himself a well-educated man. Smart, quick-witted, intelligent, whatever you want to call it. But he knows things others should and should not know, things that it would take most people weeks to dig out of books and old internet sources. He even knows some things that have been lost to Time itself simply due to changing fads and people.

But for the life of him, he didn't know about the Mark on Tsuna's arm. And Reborn hates himself for it.

Marks, as they were called back when he was a child, was something adults had. They were how marriages were arranged. Families in the same circles would get together when they were of age and compare markings. Matching markings meant a marriage. Simple, easy to keep track of. Children did _not _have Markings, although some teenagers that hit maturity faster than others occasionally had one. But they were the exception, not the rule, and considered something of a good sign that the parents had raised their child right. After all, what boy or girl wouldn't want to marry a significant other that had their life figured out by sixteen or seventeen instead of twenty-four?

When 'Renato' ceased to exist, back when the Curse first took hold, Reborn had been a young man, eager for only three things – screwing women, killing, and drinking. A simple, straightforward life it had been, until his Sky Attraction to Luce had taken over, and then two of the three things had vanished and a new one had been added, protecting his Sky. And when the Curse took over and Luce died, that had vanished as well, leaving him with a single goal in life – killing.

And now... now he's gotten his life back. Because of a boy. A _whelp, _a mere quarter of his true age, still wet behind the ears and so scared. The hitman part of his brain is eternally disgusted by it, even if its also the same part of him that becomes obscenely proud whenever Tsuna beats someone down that needs it. But those options he had before haven't returned. He has killing.

And he has Tsuna.

Tsuna is an anomaly. He's a whiny brat that's too lazy for his own good, and yet he's the first to move when trouble brews. He hates fighting, yet he swings his fists as if in prayer, brow furrowed. He doesn't want to be in the mafia, yet he continuously draws enemies and friends in with his light and laughter, proverbial moths to the flame.

And now Tsuna, sweet, innocent, doe-eyed Tsuna has revealed he bears a Mark with Reborn's name on it. _Renato Sinclair, _a boy murdered by the man that stands here now, named Reborn. He doesn't know whether to curse Fate or bless it.

He still remembers how, when he demanded why Tsuna wanted to know about him, his eyes took on a cold, almost dead look. How his words, monotonous and quiet, spoke of being 'soulless' and Renato 'saving' him. It makes something deep inside him curl up cold while other parts of him scream in rage. The thought of Tsuna dying at this point makes him angry. Makes him hate. Because Tsuna is precious to him, even if Reborn doesn't want him to be.

His control is rapidly coming undone around him because of that boy. And Tsuna... god _Tsuna _plans to actually look for _Renato, _search for him with that ridiculous Dying Will that Reborn forged himself. One part of Reborn demands he march back and just _tell _Tsuna about himself, tell him that he is – was – Renato, and Tsuna is _his _goddamn it, so he'd better get used to it.

(Get used to it? Get used to what, being locked in the golden cage? Because Reborn won't let him escape. Won't let him run. Tsuna is _his, _by the Fate's own design now, and Reborn. Wants. Him.)

The other part tells him to shut up, and let Tsuna figure it out. The boy's gone and put up his bluff, and now Reborn needs to call it. He needs to call it _hard, _and hope it falls through, because if Tsuna finds out about Renato... well, he won't want _Reborn _anymore.

(Then again, Tsuna won't want him in the first place. Reborn is a mass-murdering psychopath that spends his time kicking young heirs around like soccer balls; part of Tsuna's brain will have to be missing for him to _want _Reborn in any capacity.)

He still wonders about the Mark, though. Clearly the conditions have changed since his time, so why hasn't he found his yet? If Tsuna has his name on his arm, shouldn't he have his in the same spot? He checks his arm, both of them, but no, no _Sawada Tsunayoshi _anywhere to be seen. He waits until he's back at the Sawada house before exploring further; peeling out of his clothes (soon to be a man's suit again, instead of this ridiculous baby outfit) and carefully examining himself. Nothing on his front, but what about his back?

_Ah. There it is._

Right on his spine, where he'd never think to look. Running from the base of his neck, all the way down to the tops of his hips, a graceful line of kanji sits spelling out Tsuna's name. Reborn looks at it, and feels a sense of satisfaction run through him. Here it is; the proof that Sawada Tsunayoshi was born to be his.

He hears the front door to the house opening and gets himself dressed again. He's sipping at his coffee and reading the Italian newspaper when Tsuna opens the door to his room. Reborn doesn't look at him, pretending to ignore him for the sake of his own sanity. There's no telling what he'd do if Tsuna were to tempt him any more, at this point. Now that he knows the boy belongs to him, he'll do everything in his power to keep him _close, _but there are only a number of things this body can do. He needs his adulthood back, before pursuing this... relationship any further.

And it _will_ be a relationship. Reborn has so few things to call his own, let alone a whole person. He's not going to give that up without a fight. And if Tsuna won't fall for him willingly later on down the line, he'll seduce the boy. Tsuna was a romantic at heart, after all; a nice date or two, some walks in the park, and he'd have the one thing he'd never thought he'd ever want but now finds himself desperately in need of.

"Hey, Reborn?"

He slants his eyes towards Tsuna. "What."

Tsuna's looking at him now, steady and sure. "Are you... okay with this? I mean, it seems like you knew Renato. Was he your friend, or something?"

Reborn considers his next words. "Or something," he says after a pause. "You never make things easy on yourself. So I don't want to hear any whining later on when you don't find him, got it?"

"I'll find him." Tsuna yawns. He looks tired. "Might take a while, but I'll find him."

"Go to sleep, Stupid Tsuna. And don't snore in your sleep anymore, or I'll blow you up."

"Gah! Like you've got any room to talk!"

Reborn sees his cue. Standing, Leon transforms into a hammer. "Clearly, I've let you go too crazy with the disobedience. Let's fix that, shall we?"

"Hiiiee!"

Tsuna eventually finds unconscious bliss, but only after Reborn's wrung a few screams from him. Once he's out cold, Reborn lets Leon go and hops down, moving over the boy to where his arm lays. Holding it up, he turns it over and runs delicate fingers over his own once-name.

_Soon, Tsunayoshi, _he thinks, face grim. _Soon._

* * *

><p><span>Author's Notes<span>

Happy Valentines Day and all that jazz. I wanted to do something for today, something R27 related, and didn't want to start anything new, so I fell back on a story everybody generally seems to like. So... here you go! Second chapter.

Updates, if they do come, will be spontaneous. Like today. I didn't plan to write this, but had the right conditions to get it done. So please. Don't push me into updating. That's a good way to make me sour towards stories, and I don't' want to be sour towards this one. Leave your thoughts, but don't beg for an update/sequel or anything along those lines, okay? Okay.

And a quick clarification – no Reborn doesn't want Tsuna sexually. I'm aware some of the phrasing might make it seem like it, but I promise you its not. Reborn understands how these kinds of things tend to go, and right now all he's focusing on is the emotional aspect. He's also dealing with the whole 'someone to call his own' possessiveness thing, while keeping an open mind on how things may go further down the road.

Comments, questions, concerns leave them behind and I'll get to them.


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